Application of GIS technologies to study the territories of the archaeological heritage: A case of the rural district of Tauric Chersonesos, Crimea

Abstract

Archaeological postagrogenic landscapes are characterized by large heterogeneity of soil and vegetation cover and variability of soil properties, which is due to the long history and evolution of agricultural practices. The study of such territories is promising, using the capabilities of GIS technologies and geostatistical analysis for visualization and subsequent meaningful interpretation of spatially distributed information. The purpose of the research was the first study and a comprehensive assessment of the maturity of the soil and vegetation cover of the still preserved steppe ecosystems (on an area of about 760 ha) in the ancient allotments of Tauric Chersonesos (South-Western Crimea), which were created in the 4th century BC and have been used for over four centuries. Geoinformation analysis made it possible to establish the basic territorial patterns of distribution of indicators of the land cover (organic carbon content, C:N ratio, soil colour, soil red index, projective cover with feather grass, its height and projective cover with steppe litter) and their integral estimates for a potential agricultural zone Chersonesos, which is considered to be included in the land cadastral system of the state. The frequency of distribution of the grape plantation within the boundaries of the allotments decreases in the direction from northwest to southeast, which was established using archival satellite imagery and aerial photography on the territory of the rural district of Chersonesos (chora). This regularity could be reflected in the properties of plantation ploughing soils that in ancient times were turbocharged to a depth of 60–70 cm (more clarified by colour, less humus), and more often represented by remote sensing data in the north-western and central part of the rural district of Chersonesos. The performed geoinformation analysis of spatially distributed information on the colour, content of Corg, and C:N values in fallow soils and vegetation cover indicators confirmed the need to divide the chora into two agro-economic zones, which reflect differences in the specialization of agriculture (perennial plantations closer to the city (orchards and vineyards) and remote land in the southeast with predominantly grain farming). The use of spatial analysis tools to study ancient agricultural regions has new opportunities for identifying patterns in the heterogeneity of soil and vegetation, which allows it to be recommended for multidisciplinary studies of other postagrogenic landscapes of the ancient world.